From military bases in the north to agriculture in the south and computer chip manufacturing in between, Virginia is a state with a lively, diverse economy.

The birthplace of the first American colony is home to a thriving economy that is No. 9 among states in its contribution to the nation’s GDP, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department.

If you’re looking for a place that is growing in a state where geography has a direct influence on the health of regional economies, it pays to know where to move. NerdWallet crunched the data to help you find the cities and communities that are growing the fastest. Our series has analyzed states across America to determine which cities are “on the rise” based on growth of the working-age population, employment and income.

When we analyzed the numbers from 2010 to 2012 for Virginia, certain trends became apparent. Here’s what our top places had in common:

Northern Virginia is growing. The fast-growing places were largely communities in northern counties — including Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun.

Employment is high. While employment didn’t dip in Virginia as much as in many other states during the Great Recession, the rate isn’t growing as quickly as other places.

Virginians are getting wealthier. All of the places in our top 20 boasted income gains from 2010 to 2012.

Virginia residents were largely insulated from large-scale job losses during the recession, with the unemployment rate never climbing above 7.4%. However, recovery has been slow, and the most recent jobless rate of 5.6% is unchanged from a year ago. The top three areas that added jobs — Waynesboro, Fredericksburg and Kings Park West — all saw employment grow less than 5%.

Virginia’s struggles are evident in its private-sector employment, which grew only 6.1% since the nation’s low point in February 2010. The state’s lagging expansion is clear, especially when compared with its neighbors: Maryland saw 6.9% growth and employment in Washington, D.C., rebounded 13.0% in that time.

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But despite the state’s slow growth, Virginia’s unemployment rate of 5.6% is lower than Maryland, the nation’s capital and the national average of 5.9%. Virginia’s relative health as it slowly recovers explains why places on our list, such as Broadlands, can be second in the state in overall employment, while only seeing jobs increase 1.8% from 2010 to 2012.

The mixed employment picture isn’t reflected in residents’ incomes: Virginia is ranked 10th in per capita income in the U.S., and the state is home to four of the top 10 wealthiest counties in the nation, including Fairfax, Loudon and Arlington, according to the most recent American Community Survey.

In some places on our list, income is growing rather quickly. With a 19.7% increase, Gainesville had the third-highest income growth rate on our list, followed by strong gains of 19.2% in Mount Vernon and 13.8% in Fredericksburg.

Working-age population is also seeing a healthy increase in Virginia. Neabsco, our top spot, grew 32.7% from 2010 to 2012, followed by a 27.1% increase in Brambleton and 14% in Linton Hall. Our top 10 cities on the rise show that the growing working-age population is in line with overall gains, primarily in counties in the north — Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William — which outpace the median state growth rate.

It appears that Virginia has a solid economic foundation to support its potential for growth. Now, the only question is: How much longer will it take for the state to embrace a larger expansion?

Share your thoughts in the comments section, and tell us why you think your city deserved (or didn’t deserve) a spot on our list.

Here’s our list of the 20 cities and places on the rise in Virginia. Take a look at our methodology below to see how we calculated U.S. Census Bureau data to find our top cities.

City

2012 Working-age population

2010-2012 Working-age population growth

2012 Employment rate

2010-2012 Employment growth

2012 Median income

2010-2012 Median income growth

Overall growth score

1

Neabsco CDP

9,069

32.70%

70.10

1.89%

62,575

3.34%

75.94

2

Fredericksburg

20,226

5.01%

57.30

4.18%

42,732

13.75%

68.24

3

McNair CDP

13,767

12.90%

77.50

1.71%

79,073

10.53%

65.64

4

South Riding CDP

16,375

7.69%

75.00

2.18%

90,936

12.85%

64.65

5

Broadlands CDP

7,639

12.42%

78.80

1.81%

106,688

8.26%

63.24

6

Linton Hall CDP

25,065

13.93%

76.30

0.66%

72,839

9.02%

62.40

7

Brambleton CDP

6,996

27.06%

80.00

-2.32%

102,264

2.81%

60.07

8

Falls Church

9,545

6.45%

71.10

3.34%

88,048

4.22%

58.00

9

Mount Vernon CDP

9,629

3.93%

62.20

-1.74%

86,101

19.16%

57.84

10

Reston CDP

47,438

7.58%

72.20

0.84%

78,642

8.68%

57.09

11

Merrifield CDP

12,197

5.21%

78.40

3.29%

75,131

3.89%

56.50

12

Kingstowne CDP

11,334

-3.87%

73.40

2.95%

84,924

11.39%

55.24

13

Waynesboro

16,559

-0.15%

56.10

4.47%

34,756

4.08%

55.05

14

Marumsco CDP

27,469

13.84%

68.50

0.15%

40,134

2.71%

54.84

15

Tysons Corner CDP

16,645

14.50%

70.30

-2.23%

85,148

7.30%

53.98

16

Oakton CDP

27,335

3.95%

71.20

1.57%

81,643

6.58%

53.75

17

Short Pump CDP

19,011

8.76%

70.10

-0.43%

76,169

7.10%

53.38

18

Harrisonburg

42,300

2.78%

48.80

1.04%

33,379

8.56%

53.37

19

Gainesville CDP

8,069

2.29%

70.10

-3.31%

79,056

19.70%

53.04

20

Colonial Heights

14,079

-0.01%

58.50

1.92%

41,214

7.32%

51.97

21

Lansdowne CDP

8,253

18.75%

67.30

-0.30%

87,444

-3.53%

51.79

22

Arlington CDP

178,878

5.63%

74.90

0.67%

73,851

5.08%

51.46

23

Kings Park West CDP

10,801

-6.29%

67.30

4.18%

72,849

6.25%

51.21

24

Great Falls CDP

12,010

4.07%

60.50

0.33%

138,069

6.68%

50.86

25

McLean CDP

37,357

4.02%

61.20

-1.13%

127,222

10.21%

50.62

26

Fairfax Station CDP

9,458

-0.69%

65.70

2.18%

97,716

5.85%

50.59

27

Sudley CDP

11,360

-0.28%

70.70

-1.26%

44,094

14.17%

50.53

28

Lincolnia CDP

17,087

4.96%

69.40

3.27%

54,759

-1.95%

50.49

29

Fort Hunt CDP

12,529

4.66%

59.80

-1.48%

121,629

10.39%

50.47

30

West Falls Church CDP

22,127

-0.32%

73.80

2.36%

55,741

4.88%

50.40

31

Lakeside CDP

9,918

-3.14%

66.40

2.95%

40,953

5.42%

49.99

32

Idylwood CDP

13,586

6.75%

75.80

0.93%

67,964

1.70%

49.75

33

Dranesville CDP

8,910

-4.51%

68.30

-2.98%

103,721

21.23%

49.54

34

Vienna town

12,007

0.36%

69.30

1.61%

80,175

5.23%

49.47

35

Groveton CDP

11,021

2.99%

68.30

0.74%

46,948

5.09%

49.38

36

Charlottesville

37,565

2.35%

56.10

-1.58%

42,770

11.53%

49.38

37

Hybla Valley CDP

11,758

6.95%

68.50

-0.29%

42,186

3.87%

49.00

38

Montclair CDP

15,079

4.32%

69.30

0.58%

71,683

3.92%

48.98

39

Bull Run CDP

10,461

11.38%

76.40

-1.29%

47,543

2.49%

48.92

40

Huntington CDP

9,805

4.35%

76.10

-1.17%

60,240

7.72%

48.36

41

Hollins CDP

12,423

1.16%

60.20

2.21%

42,944

1.74%

48.21

42

Fair Oaks CDP

24,694

5.42%

78.60

0.64%

70,215

2.02%

48.20

43

Fairfax

18,636

2.73%

64.40

0.94%

61,183

3.07%

47.69

44

West Springfield CDP

18,278

2.91%

66.50

-0.60%

75,548

6.78%

47.63

45

Cherry Hill CDP

11,069

2.99%

69.90

-1.13%

53,593

7.90%

47.47

46

Alexandria

118,211

4.41%

72.80

-1.09%

64,967

6.53%

47.45

47

Lorton CDP

14,573

1.21%

68.90

-1.71%

53,662

10.64%

47.19

48

Buckhall CDP

12,080

9.64%

69.10

-0.29%

80,129

-0.43%

47.07

49

Richmond

169,973

2.16%

57.60

-0.69%

39,561

7.03%

47.01

50

Woodlawn CDP (Fairfax County)

14,957

0.01%

74.00

3.79%

39,701

-2.96%

46.54

51

Newington CDP

9,794

0.55%

68.80

-2.41%

75,739

12.21%

46.42

52

Bon Air CDP

13,231

4.52%

65.10

-1.36%

51,384

6.03%

46.36

53

Chantilly CDP

17,519

6.39%

73.70

-0.67%

68,488

2.60%

46.31

54

Ashburn CDP

32,279

8.24%

73.10

-1.22%

80,386

2.15%

46.08

55

Franconia CDP

15,331

6.58%

74.00

0.54%

69,853

-0.93%

46.04

56

Dale City CDP

49,452

5.45%

70.70

-1.39%

50,524

3.73%

44.81

57

Newport News

141,990

0.02%

58.80

0.68%

38,453

2.92%

44.58

58

Annandale CDP

31,715

2.11%

67.70

-2.73%

51,747

9.78%

44.58

59

Christiansburg town

16,431

2.20%

68.50

-0.72%

40,562

4.54%

44.51

60

Staunton

19,755

-0.41%

56.70

-0.35%

37,232

5.70%

44.35

61

Lynchburg

62,825

3.11%

52.30

-2.43%

35,149

7.78%

44.22

62

Roanoke

77,745

0.76%

58.00

-1.02%

34,791

5.96%

43.93

63

Leesburg town

31,148

5.44%

73.20

0.41%

61,196

-2.11%

43.58

64

Suffolk

64,631

2.92%

59.20

-0.67%

45,243

2.47%

43.22

65

Highland Springs CDP

12,677

5.77%

61.60

-0.65%

35,883

-0.08%

43.21

66

Manassas Park

10,755

11.64%

72.20

-2.17%

40,618

-1.79%

42.74

67

Lowes Island CDP

8,271

0.78%

73.30

-2.66%

94,263

8.72%

42.57

68

Centreville CDP

55,724

1.53%

73.10

-1.08%

64,027

3.72%

42.23

69

Springfield CDP

25,061

4.44%

62.70

-1.26%

51,644

1.24%

41.84

70

Franklin Farm CDP

14,780

2.55%

72.30

-3.34%

102,147

8.01%

41.67

71

Sterling CDP

20,903

0.53%

75.60

-0.79%

51,293

3.15%

41.56

72

Burke Centre CDP

13,656

1.59%

69.00

-1.43%

68,912

3.84%

41.54

73

Tuckahoe CDP

36,374

0.97%

62.10

-2.97%

51,272

8.04%

41.29

74

Virginia Beach

346,596

1.45%

60.30

-2.27%

44,043

5.37%

40.82

75

Sugarland Run CDP

9,209

9.85%

71.50

-4.54%

52,013

3.29%

40.28

76

Poquoson

9,653

1.91%

61.00

-2.09%

57,218

3.59%

39.92

77

Mechanicsville CDP

28,063

4.76%

66.70

-2.49%

48,798

2.11%

39.91

78

Portsmouth

75,615

-0.58%

54.40

-2.86%

38,621

7.49%

39.70

79

Norfolk

196,929

1.16%

52.10

-1.70%

36,067

3.01%

39.68

80

Blacksburg town

39,052

0.07%

46.60

2.19%

37,113

-6.07%

39.55

81

Chesapeake

172,922

2.43%

61.60

-2.69%

46,526

4.26%

39.53

82

Lake Ridge CDP

30,821

1.42%

70.40

-2.09%

62,159

3.47%

39.39

83

Newington Forest CDP

9,955

-0.82%

72.30

-1.23%

68,568

2.82%

38.98

84

Herndon town

18,078

-0.50%

76.70

-0.78%

56,029

1.15%

38.74

85

Chester CDP

15,984

4.26%

60.20

-6.23%

46,041

9.71%

37.58

86

Burke CDP

32,368

0.01%

67.30

-2.75%

73,614

4.36%

37.40

87

Salem

20,701

1.19%

55.20

-4.17%

43,038

6.80%

37.25

88

Rose Hill CDP

15,244

-1.65%

66.20

-2.22%

68,003

4.20%

37.15

89

Hampton

109,903

-0.73%

55.10

-3.50%

40,376

6.58%

37.06

90

Manassas

28,459

5.60%

67.90

-3.82%

46,165

1.80%

36.96

91

Gloucester Point CDP

8,366

-0.42%

59.80

-3.55%

38,900

5.82%

36.46

92

Williamsburg

12,959

6.52%

43.70

-6.82%

41,542

7.84%

36.19

93

Cave Spring CDP

21,337

3.54%

64.40

-4.73%

47,156

4.80%

35.88

94

Culpeper town

12,178

2.92%

64.10

-3.90%

41,592

2.97%

35.65

95

Wolf Trap CDP

12,671

2.60%

61.70

-3.59%

122,586

1.91%

35.08

96

Madison Heights CDP

8,840

0.25%

58.20

-2.68%

36,548

1.59%

35.06

97

Cascades CDP

8,835

0.37%

71.60

-3.76%

88,663

2.66%

33.49

98

Hopewell

17,254

-0.95%

47.10

-6.36%

35,694

10.34%

33.41

99

Radford

14,521

0.28%

45.50

-2.99%

35,235

0.29%

33.03

100

Glen Allen CDP

11,951

-0.66%

68.70

-4.18%

48,707

4.14%

33.01

101

East Highland Park CDP

11,292

-1.02%

60.00

-5.51%

39,087

7.19%

32.39

102

Brandermill CDP

10,021

2.38%

64.80

-5.68%

55,323

3.89%

31.63

103

Danville

35,076

-1.46%

47.90

-4.39%

32,497

3.94%

31.62

104

Wakefield CDP

9,557

6.33%

60.90

-8.14%

92,051

5.65%

30.57

105

Laurel CDP

13,476

3.47%

63.90

-6.44%

39,156

3.41%

30.18

106

Martinsville

11,359

0.11%

45.10

-8.70%

34,270

11.99%

30.09

107

Manchester CDP

9,059

1.23%

64.00

-5.74%

40,690

1.88%

28.51

108

Timberlake CDP

10,968

-1.91%

59.90

-4.47%

37,774

1.12%

28.27

109

Bristol

14,466

1.00%

48.00

-6.07%

30,772

2.02%

27.63

110

Meadowbrook CDP

14,684

-1.17%

59.50

-6.74%

40,454

2.48%

24.55

111

Winchester

21,052

0.51%

60.40

-6.65%

38,882

-0.75%

23.05

112

Front Royal town

11,834

2.61%

59.70

-6.43%

39,184

-3.16%

23.02

113

Petersburg

26,247

0.25%

45.30

-8.85%

31,187

2.22%

20.22

114

Bailey’s Crossroads CDP

18,355

7.79%

64.80

-7.16%

42,856

-12.65%

16.27

Methodology

The overall score for each city was derived from these measures:1.Population growth from 2010 to 2012 made up 33.3% of the total score. Data for the working-age population (16+) comes from the 2012 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate for all places in the state, Table DP03.2.Employment growth from 2010 to 2012 made up 33.3% of the total score. Data for the percent of employed residents comes from the 2012 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate for all places in the state, Table DP03.3. Income growth from 2010 to 2012 made up 33.3% of the total score. Data for the median earnings for workers comes from the 2012 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate for all places in the state, Table DP03.

We evaluated 114 cities, towns and communities in Virginia with populations of 10,000 or more.

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